Type of Document Master's Thesis Author Luo, Baozhen Author's Email Address bluo2@student.gsu.edu URN etd-07242006-131933 Title Social Construction of Chinese American Ethnic Identity: Dating Attitudes and Behaviors among Second-Generation Chinese American Youths Degree Master of Arts Department Sociology Advisory Committee
Advisor Name Title Heying Jenny Zhan Committee Chair Denise A. Donnelley Committee Member Elisabeth O.Burgess Committee Member Keywords
- Social Construction
- Agency
- Culture
- Confucianism
- Patriarchy
Date of Defense 2006-04-27 Availability unrestricted Abstract This thesis explores and identifies patterns of dating attitudes and behaviors among second-generation Chinese Americans. Grounded theory is applied to analyze data from in-depth interviews with 20 second-generation Chinese Americans in metro- Atlanta area. By using a social constructionist model of ethnicity, I uncovered a subtle process by which the second-generation Chinese youths constructed their dating values and identities through both differentiating and integrating their parentsĄŻ and white peersĄŻ dating cultures and gender norms. Second-generation Chinese American youths constructed and reconstructed their own dating values, gender norms, and further ethnic identities through various processes of picking and choosing from both cultures. I argue that straight-line assimilation theories, which assume adaptation into mainstream American culture, do not explain the complexity of the dating culture created by the second-generation Chinese American youths. In conclusion, the findings of this study revealed a new dimension of the social construction of ethnic identity: the agentic dynamics of constructing the second-generation Chinese American identity.Files
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